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Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Just a short one today. My Goon colleague (grrrrrr) is away for the festive season so work is a bit hectic. I usually do a year in review for my last post of 2015. Is there really much to say about this year?

2015 started with a bang for me. I had just joined the Caldari and the Gallente were trying to capture the forward operating base. It was constant fighting day and night in the plex. I got 212 kills in the first month of the tear and then the Gallente gave up... and my Eve mojo vanished as quickly as the targets did.

It was now difficult to get a fight. I'd log on, roam, not find anything logout. Fanfest in March revitalised me a little, but the fact I was having issues finding fights in my TZ was a problem. July was only notable for a couple of pods I caught. Other than those it was a few trash-fit and not much else. Then the summer lull came and my kills soon dropped to two a month.

Things stayed like that for a while. I did get lucky and solo a Svipul with a rocket Kestrel somehow.

By the start of the holiday season I knew something had to change. So I decided to give those piwats in Stay Frosty a try. One week and a bit in, things are good. Then again Caldari Militia was good at this time of the year. When everything returned to normal I was left with stabbed farmers and trash-fits in my TZ. Will it happen again. Will action fall off when everyone goes back to work or will the gf's continue?

Monday, December 28, 2015

I was watching Bond last night. Thunderball to be exact. Having bought the TV-mad wife a 55" UHD telly with a Blu-Ray player and the complete Bond collection we are having a Bond marathon. This was after Christmas Dinner Mk II. Out here in the desert we have Christmas Dinner with friends, eight of us this year. However the wife and I also like to have a smaller one for ourselves a few days later. As I was cooking Christmas Dinner MK II I was on Eve undocking and having a little roam in between basting the turkey and checking on the veggies. I'd left Drack logged in and got a Tweet as Bond and Largo were exchanging quips.

"Is that your Executioner in the Novice?"

Obviously not, as I was on the sofa unable to move after eating my own body-weight in turkey, ham and trimmings. Also I very rarely fly Amarr. In fact, hardly ever! This got me thinking, when was the last time I was in one?

I looked back through my kills and loses. The last time I lost an Amarr hull was December the 26th. So Boxing Day.... 2013. Its been over two years since I lost a Amarr ship, I just don't fly them very much. I trust in the rust more than gold by far!

I know I fly Gallente and Matari a lot. Caldari some. Amarr hardly ever. I have level 5 in most skills so its not skill related. So far in December looking at my kills and loses I've flown the following hulls and actually PvP'd in them:-

Sunday, December 27, 2015

OK, may be I didn't break my Comet, I was trying to avoid the damage. Alas the damage didn't avoid me. It was a close 1v1 and I won by the skin of my teeth. My ship was a sorry sight when I docked up. Loving these new damage effects!

Friday, December 25, 2015

It was black. A blackness she had never encountered before. There was no sound either. She could hear nothing, feel nothing, see nothing. So she waited. She thought back to the previous day. The judge bringing the gavel down with a bang after passing sentence. Five years in a mind-prison for something she didn't do. Her good for nothing boyfriend had tricked her. He had asked to to help with his business and sign some things. She had no idea he was defrauding people. Now he'd cost her the next five years. Her body in stasis but her mind in a virtual world where priests and nuns would teach her the error of her ways and she would be released, reborn, reclaimed, back into the Amarr a new person.

"Crap." is all she could think. Five years of being lectured to by nuns in a virtual world.

The blackness started to fade. It was becoming light. She could hear things. There was a flash. Suddenly she was standing in a meadow. It was amazing. She could smell the damp grass, it had rained recently. She was barefoot and could feel the vegetation between her toes. This was the construct? It was paradise. She looked down. It was her body, she could feel the light white summer dress. Her senses were alive. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad she thought! Beats living on a station for minimum wage. She followed a babbling brook through the meadow and in the distance she could see a small village. It looked like something from ancient times. Stone huts with thatched roofs. Smoke gently climbing from several of the chimneys.

As she reached the edge of the settlement she saw several women walking about. They were dressed like her in the white dresses. Near to a pond one woman sat staring over the water. She made her way across.

"Hello?" Fassara asked. The woman didn't move.

"Hi, I'm Fassara." she said a bit louder. The other woman didn't respond. Just gazed straight ahead.

"Yes we know. There are only a dozen of us here. We knew another was coming when a new hut appeared over night. That's your one there." the woman said pointing to a stone house at the end of the row.

"Oh. Right. But what is wrong with her?" Fassara pressed.

"Come with me, I'll explain." smiled the brunette with a tinge of sadness "I'm Kansine by the way."

Kansine led Fassara to a larger hut. Inside several women were sat chatting or making crafts. Fassara looked again. Every single woman was attractive. She didn't expect to find men and women mixed, but she was surprised to find so many beautiful women.

"What is this place?" she asked.

Kansine nodded and indicated for her to sit on some animal skins by a fire pit.

Well the truth is we're not in general population. As far as we can tell this is a separate construct hidden away from the main mind-prisons. The entry requirements here are you are True-Amarr, young and beautiful. I'm assuming your lawyer was surprised at the sentence compared to your crime?"

Fassara looked surprised she knew this "Well, yes. He couldn't believe I got sent here."

"Its Holder Apunar and his son. They had this place created for their own pleasure. The judges are in on it. They send the best looking women her and we get lost in they system."

Fassara started to zone out as Kansine explained more. The Holder and his son would regularly visit. They'd 'jack in' to the virtual world the same as the visiting priests and nuns were supposed to do. However they didn't come to rehabilitate. They did whatever they wanted. Sometimes they'd be themselves. Other times they'd spawn as monsters or powerful fantasy beings. They were in a computer generated world and they could do whatever they wanted. The woman by the lake was Gorreedle. The holder's son had appeared as a wolf-man one night. Half man, half wolf. He had ripped her flesh as he took her. Once he left and the technicians are allowed access again and were able to reset her physical body so she didn't die. However the horror of that night broke the poor woman's mind. Kansine went on to explain whilst it was a virtual world and their bodies were in stasis-tubes on the outpost, if they died in the construct they died in the outside world. The mind could not reconcile the difference. However it was rare. As soon as the Holder or his son left the techs that managed the world could save them by putting them into an instant coma and resetting their physical forms in the construct.

"So we are simply her for a perverted Holder and his sick kid's sport?"

"Afraid so. My advice is play along and do whatever they want no matter how sick or disgusting. You cannot fight them. Whilst the construct has the same rules as the real world they are able to bend the rules. They have powers we cannot fight. Whatever it is, it'll be better than what will happen to you if you resist or upset them. There are worse things than dying here." Kansine warned.

-o0o-

The next few weeks were a living hell for Fassara. As Kansine had warned her, the new girls were always popular. At first she had resisted but Kansine had been right. They were in control and had ultimate power. The first time she'd resisted and fought back. The Holder had simply laughed and broken her arms and legs with his bare hands, snapping them like twigs. He'd continued after, sating his lust as she screamed in agony. She'd never known such pain. After he was satisfied he had climbed off her, smiled and vanished into thin air. Next thing she knew it was next morning and her body was fine. However she felt a dull ache in all of her limbs. The girls explained that the mind remembers and injuries that were fixed could still be painful for days after. From that point she'd co-operated not wanting a repeat.

She was laying in bed one night when she heard the noise. The visitor had chosen someone else for that night. The sharp crack and scream let her know it was the Holders son, Shushayahlou. He was sick. Got of on causing pain and suffering. However she'd been told he prefered brunettes and didn't like blondes. She'd been safe for now. Not that his father was a nice experience, but he only caused her pain if she resisted. She pulled up the covers tight and looked across the room at the big candle. She'd left it lit so if she did get a visitor she'd be able to see who it was. Now she wanted the light gone but she didn't want to leave her warm bed. It was annoying. She stared at the candle like it was its fault. Suddenly the flame spluttered and died. She gasped. That was a un-nerving coincidence. A freak breeze blowing out the candle she desperately wanted extinguished.

Next morning she took breakfast with the other girls. There were fourteen of them now. Two more had arrived since Fassara but they'd also lost one of the others. The holders son going too far and killing her before he left. It was generally accepted that the Holder and his son didn't want the techs watching them so their access was disconnected whenever one of them was inside the construct. The woman had died before the son disconnected and hence her body in the real world had too. They had undertaken a small ceremony the next day. However there was no body to bury. The techs simply deleted it when they came back online.

One of the woman was quiet, obviously the one from the previous night. She was left alone. As Fassara finished her breakfast she left the meal hall and wandered into the wood. She was angry. Peladi had obviously been lashed within an inch of her life and nobody could do anything about it. So far Fassara had been spared anything too bad. The Holder liked it rough but compared with the kinks of his son, she'd got off lightly. However it wasn't fair. It was wrong. And there was nothing any of them could do. She worked herself up more and more. Finally she screamed and punched the closest tree. There was a massive crack as the tree broke in two. Fassara stood their open mouthed looking at the half metre wide trunk snapped in half. She looked at her knuckles. Slightly red but not a scratch on them.

-o0o-

It was a few days later when Fassara finally accepted something was very wrong. She was sat by the lake watching a falcon soar overhead. She knew it wasn't a real falcon, just another part of the construct. A small baby rabbit hoped from the undergrowth to the far edge of the lake. Fassara watched the falcon twist and line up. It folded its wings in and started a steep dive towards its prey. Fassara knew they were both constructs. The AI was simply imitating nature, but it was wrong. She knew what it was like to be the rabbit. She personally knew the feel of talons.

"No!" she muttered under her breath. The falcon froze a metre from the rabbit. Its wings outstretched and talons open. There it hovered as if someone had paused a movie. The rabbit looked up, saw the falcon hanging there in the air and scampered back to the undergrowth. Suddenly the falcon moved again, slamming into the sandy strip at the edge of the lake.

"Yes my Lord. He will arrive in three days." the governor of the mind-prison replied over the holo-link.

"We will arrive later to deal with this." The Holder said trying to hide his panic under a commanding tone.

Too many people had been "lost" in the mind-prison for this system. Too many relatives had made representations. Now the Empire was sending an Inquisitor to review the facility. It wouldn't take long for them to identify the pods not connected to the main male and female worlds. Not take long to realise there was a third world. Not take long to throw him and his son into their own jail. He tapped away at the holo-comm. After a few moments his son's image appeared.

They could transfer the girls to the women's construct. However what if the Inquisitors staff entered the construct and spoke to one. No, that world and its inhabitants needed to be erased. What a waste!

"My son. We had a problem. We need to shut down our special place for a few months and we need to do it tonight. Would you care to join me for one last party?"

-o0o-

The girls were in the main village hall when the storm hit. Lightning flashed in the sky, thunder claps shook the building and the wind outside howled.

"We've never had anything like this before!" Kansine said nervously as the women gathered. "Weather is always fair. Why are they giving us a storm?"

"They are both coming." Fassara said. "They are taking their worst forms. Something is wrong."

The women all looked at her.

"How do you know?" one asked. "They never come together!"

"I just do. I can feel them. Don't ask me how, but I can."

Suddenly the main door crashed open and there stood a horrific withered being. Stick thin arms and legs on an emaciated torso standing eight foot high. Its skin was a deathly grey and its eyes orange. The fingers ended in vicious silver claws a foot long that glinted in the fire light. The girls started to back away as there was a crash behind them, the rear door had been ripped from its hinges. The wolf-man stood there. Six foot of fur and muscle growling at them. Whichever way they looked, teeth and claws blocked the exits.

"This way!" Fassara cried running towards the side of the hall. Kansine followed as did a few of the women. Several stood their ground wondering why Fassara would lead them to a solid wall. They looked in shock as the stone wall parted and they ran through. For two of them their hesitation was the end of them. The withered creature moved at lightening speed jumping between the columns supporting the roof. It pounced onto one of the women as the wolfman pounced. Screams rang out as claws and teeth ripped into soft flesh. Its mouth opened impossibly wide and closed over her face. A forked tongue forced its way into her mouth as the razor sharp teeth closed around her head. Fassara glanced back and saw as the creature pulled its head back, ripping the flesh from her face and leaving a bloodied skull staring at the ceiling. The Wolfman also had a victim, the inside of the hall now looked like a butchers shop.

Outside the five women ran to the edge of the village. The screams of terror and agony could barely be heard through the storm.

"How did you do that?" Kansine asked. The other girls turned to Fassara.

"I... I don't know. For a few weeks I've been finding strange things happening. I don't know why but I have been able to affect the construct. Just small things. I never opened a wall!" she explained. They saw Bridi at one of the windows screaming for help. She was suddenly dragged down out of sight. A second later a fountain of blood splattered across the rough glass drawing gasps and screams from the women.

"What are we going to do! They are unstoppable! We're dead aren't we?" Danera cried falling to the floor, she was comforted by Mararq.

"No use running. Nowhere to go." Lalaveec said in resignation. "Its over."

Kansine looked at Fassara expectantly. She just slowly shook her head. For whatever reason she could make minor changes to the construct but no way should could fight the Holder and his son. They had taken characters from popular horror movies and their powers in the construct meant they could do anything they wanted.

The withered creature stepped from the hall's main door. He held his right arm high. Impaled on the claws was a torso. The legs, arms and head had been removed. The talons erupted from the stomach as he waved it in the air at the remaining five. On the roof the thatch burst open and the wolfman jumped out. His muzzle dripped blood. The two looked at the group of women for a second before bounding towards them.

They ran but it was no use. Danera and Mararq were caught moments later. Having slumped to the ground they were last to be on their feet and running. Fassara glanced back to see the Holder and his son pounce on one each. There was no rush and they took their time. She saw the withered creature straddle Danera and use one talon to slice her slowly. The wolfman took Mararq ferociously. The screams of the women faded as they sprinted into the woods.

"Wait! Stop!" gasped Kansine as they reached a small clearing. "Its no use. We cannot out run them. They are playing with us."

Fassara stopped and nodded. She was right. This was a hunt that they would never win.

"Where is Lalaveec?"

The two woman looked around. In the distance there was a shrill scream.

"It appears my father is taking care of her." a voice sounded from the bushes. The wolfman stepped out a moment later. "I'm sure he'll take his time with her. The question is, which one of you do I do first."

The wolfman approached slowly. Fassara stepped in front of Kansine.

"You'll have to come through me first" she snarled. The wolfman laughed.

"Oh I am going to enjoy making you scream bitch!" he snarled and charged.

Fassara didn't know what would happen but she channeled all her rage, all the pain, all the horror. As the wolfman pounced she threw her first forward. It connected with its snout. The flying, snarling ball of teeth and claws suddenly flew off in the opposite direction. Smashing into a large tree a hundred metres away, snapping the mighty trunk like a twig. Kansine looked at Fassara opened mouthed. Fassara herself looked in shock.

"How did you....?"

"I have no idea!" she finished.

The wolfman staggered into the clearing. His left arm hung loosely by his side. He was covered in cuts and gashes.

"You slut! How did you do that? You'll pay for your insolence!" it said charging again.

"No!" Fassara said calmly holding up a hand. The wolfman froze dead still. Anger flashed in her eyes. In the wolfman's there was only fear as he hung there paralysed. Fassara quickly twisted her hand. The wolfman's head twisted at speed and there was a sickening crack. Its lifeless body dropped to the floor. The two women stared at the corpse for the longest time.

"Ah. The last two!" a voice from behind said. "I'll be taking the blonde and I'll save you darkie for my boy."

The two girls turned to see the tall withered creature enter the clearing. It carried Lalaveec's head by her hair. It stopped abruptly as it saw the heap of fur behind them.

"Shushayahlou?" it called out pathetically.

Realisation dawned on its face. Its head slowly turned to the girls. Anger and hatred flashing in its yellow eyes.

"I don't know what you did or how you did it but you are going to suffer for this. I will do things to you so that you'll beg me to end your suffering!" the creature growled running at them.

Fassara held up out hand and it stopped its advance. Confusion all over its face. Slowly it started to advance as if walking into a strong wind. Progress was slow but it was advancing.

The withered creature continued it slow advance, silver claws specked with blood glinting every time lightening flashed. A large branch flew from the edge of the clearing and slammed into the creature. It snarled and brushed it away. Fassara tried more objects but the creature was too strong. It soon was within five metres of the two women. With a mighty shove Fassara knocked it back a few feet but it soon restarted its advance. Finally it lashed out and caught her hand with its claws. She screamed and fell back, two severed fingers falling to the grass.

"I don't know how you are going this?" the Holder said menacingly as it towered over her "But I'm going to enjoy this next bit!"

The was crack as Kansine broke a branch over its head from behind. The creature turned to her unhurt. Its right arm shot out gripping her by the neck and lifting her a clear foot off the ground.

"I'm really not into brunettes as you know." it said casually. It looked down at Fassara who was on the floor sobbing, holding her hand with the missing fingers. Kansine made choking noises as it hauled her higher into the air. It continued to stare at Fassara as its left arm swung impossibly fast. It appeared as no more than a blur.

"NO!" Fassara screamed as Kansine's belly erupted in a spay of blood. Her intestines and internal organs falling through the three deep slashes. The creature dropped her to the floor.

"Don't feel sorry for her. When I'm done with you, you'll be praying for a death like that!"

Slowly Fassara rose to her feet!

"No. No I won't." she growled. Her face twisted in anger.

The holder gave a bemused look at her. Suddenly she screamed in rage and the creature was blown back twenty feet. It rose to its feet. Thunder crashed overhead and a fork of lightening flashed into the clearing striking the Holder. The creature screamed in agony. A second and third strike followed. Within moments it was impossible to count. Dozens of lightening strikes forked down from the sky. The creature glowed with heat its grey skin turning orange. A final clap of thunder and the sky appeared to fill with lightening. A blood curling scream was heard, then there was silence.

-o0o-

"Look. Its way overdue. We are going to have to turn our systems back on!" Atlairbot grumbled.

"Man. If the Holder finds out he'll be roasting your nuts over an open fire." Hatenkhi replied.

"They'll not know. Probably having too much fun with the girls." Atlairbot said flicking the switch. "Oh shit!"

The two men quickly swung their seats against the console and started to confirm the read-outs. All but one of the girls was dead, but more importantly the Holder and his son were dead.

"Oh frack, oh frack, oh frack!" Atlairbot panicked. "What do we do?"

Hatenkhi thought for a second. "Terminate the last girl. She's a witness to all this. The Inquisitor is going to find all of this. We can say the Holder ordered, no threatened us and our family. If we didn't do what he said he'd imprison our families!"

"Good idea!" Atlairbot replied opening a clear plastic window in the desk that contained the kill switches. He flicked the switch and glanced at the other screen. Frowning he flicked the switch a few more times. Still nothing. He rose from his chair.

"Kill switch isn't working. I'll go unplug her manually."

He walked to the door and straight into it.

"What the frack?"

He pressed the manual open button. Nothing.

"Entire system is fracked!" he grumbled.

"Wait a sec." Hatenkhi said reaching over to the comms console.

"Central. This is Hatenkhi in Control Room W-3 we're experiencing some technical issues. Console isn't responding to all commands and even the door is dead."

"Of course it is Hatenkhi." a female voice spoke.

"Well..... are you going to do anything *cough* about it?"

"No."

"What? *cough* What's going on?"

"If I let your colleague out of that room he's going to kill me and I cannot let that happen can I Hatenkhi."

Hatenkhi and Atlairbot looked at each other, brows furrowed in confusion. At almost the same moment their eyes went wide in fear when they realised who they were talking to. By the time they composed themselves from the shock they couldn't talk through the coughing.

-o0o-

The Inquisitor looked down the length of the canteen. Dead bodies were slumped all around. Half eaten meals lined the long tables.

"And it is like this all over the outpost?" he asked walking down the room.

"Yes Lord Inquisitor. From what we can tell it started in the control rooms and soon spread throughout the outpost. Life support malfunctioned in various ways. Some rooms froze, others overheated. Some, like this one, simply turned off the air and our people suffocated."

They passed down a corridor. Every so often a body lay there.

"The AI reports everything is OK?"

"Yes my Lord. We've had our best technicians look at they AI and all systems. They cannot explain it. Currently all systems control is currently bypassing the AI and is under the control of your Apocalypse class battleship so we are quite safe."

They passed through a large double blast-door that was wide open. The room was full of what appeared to be coffins. They were stacked as far as the eye could see. Lights slowly blinking on each one.

"Yet most of the prisoners are alive? Only about a dozen of them died during this time?"

"Yes my Lord. We are trying to piece the situation together. They appeared to have died in the construct just before the disaster here. Also we have this casket here."

The man led the inquisitor to an open casket. It was half full of a viscous liquid. Tubes and wires hung over the sides.

"This one escaped?"

"Sir, we are not sure what happened as escape is impossible. We cannot explain it. The only visitors were the Holder and his Son who were found dead in the priests section. We think they were here helping to rehabilitate our prisoners. However they appear to have died in the construct with the other dozen prisoners, they were not killed by the AI sabotaging the life support like the rest. All staff are accounted for. It is impossible one of the prisoners simply exited their casket without help. But there was nobody to help."

The Inquisitor stared at the open casket before glancing around. He pointed to near the door.

"Is that a drone?" he asked. The man twisted.

"Yes my Lord. A caretaker drone. Provides support at night or in an emergency. If you are wondering if they can remove a prisoner from their pod, yes it can. However it has hardwired security protocols to stop that and needs a command code physically entering onto a keypad on the drone to allow it to perform that task. It was designed to be unhackable."

"But it was still under the control of the AI wasn't it?"

"Of course my Lord, thats why it is not active now. However the AI was not allowed to command the drone to release a prisoner. It would be impossible for someone to hack a military-grade AI and then hack that drone as well."

The Inquisitor nodded unconvinced. The AI had gone crazy for whatever reason and killed everyone on the ship. Bypassing even hard-wired security protocols on a caretaker drone must be easy compared with bypassing the safeties on the life-support system.

"One final thing. You said Holder Apunar was visiting with his son. Is the Holders ship in the hanger?" he asked.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

I have been a critic on how a lot of the new ships are effecting cheaper PvP. T3 destroyers have replaced Assault Ships. Navy Electronic Attack Frigates are a PITA for T1 frigates unless you have the exact counter. Command Destroyers are a bigger PITA as they need a faster ship with scram which becomes a problem as these tend to be what destroyers kill the best!

I enjoy cheap PvP. Thrashers, Kestrels, Tristans. Its still possible to get good fights in these hulls but opportunities are diminishing. I'm having to run more often than fight an almost impossible fight.

So I've decided to flip the bird to austerity and fly shiny for a bit. I have been flying cheap for a few years now and three sets of Pod and Planet fiction competition prizes mean I have cash. I'm also near Jita now so my alt can go buy the shiny stuff.

Navy Maulus.I'd already been killed by these. Death by slow 12km scram kite. Not fun. However I had a stabbed Tristan that had escaped from my rocket Kestrel so needed something different. Normally I'd grab my triple long point Kestrel. Whilst this is great for reaching out to grab stabbed farmers, it has poor DPS and no tank so always risks ending up a lolmail.

The Navy Maulus has a bonus to scram range giving me a 16km scram when overheated. More importantly it has +2 scram strength bonus meaning a single scram is +4 strength. I wonder if Fozzie put these in for stabbed farmers or the upcoming super-cap changes where they will no longer be immune to scrams and points, you'll just need a lot of them.

I entered the plex and the Tristan was in no rush. After all I was far away and he was double stabbed so no worry. However I had an overheated 16km +4 strength scram. Lock, scram, drones, dead and podded. Yeah that works. Next day I had the same. I noted a Tristan in a Novice Plex and quickly looked up the few pilots in local on zKill. Only one flew Tristans regularly and he was another dual-stab fitter. The stabbed think they have time to escape. Once that scram is on them its game over. I swapped to the Navy Maulus and you can pretty much guess the rest!

SvipulTalking to some players in-game that I respect when it comes to PvP and fitting, it appeared that you should look at putting a little bit of shiny onto a Svipul. You are paying a lot for the hull so why skimp on mods and rigs? We're not talking silly here, but a few of the right faction mods, deadspace equipment and T2 rigs can turn the Svipul into a bit of a beast. I had a play around with one and yes, its a true beast.

I joined up with a couple of other Frostonians when a Gnosis was spotted in a large plex. The Gnosis primaried me. Unfortunately for him it didn't go well. The Gnosis died and the Svipul was just holding its own. A passive shield recharge of 93hp/sec mean that you can tank most the drone damage and your speed means cruiser weapons cannot track you effectively even if webbed.

Next?Well I suppose if I'm going full on "Can't beat them, join them!" I'll look at a Command Destroyer for solo and small gang PvP.

Monday, December 21, 2015

This time last year I had chosen a new corp after a lot of research. I was after more action and some fleets given QCats had gone very quiet. In fact I even made a graph showing the various possible corps kills and loses in my TZ for a selected three day period. It looked like TEMPLIS was the most active... and it was... for a while.

What I didn't know at the time was that it was an unusual time for TEMPLIS. The Gallente Militia were trying to capture their home system. I joined them on Boxing Day and had nearly 70 kills in the next week. January I got hundreds of kills. February was "a lot". The big push was meaning there were fights happening around the clock. Then the Gallente Militia gave up trying to take Hasmijalla. It was like a tap being turned off. My PvP tap.

It went really quiet, really quickly. I stuck with Templis but I had to work for my PvP and with various factors in 2015, I really couldn't be bothered. I'd log on and be lucky to see three or four in corp. The GMT +4 timezone is not a busy place. However I still logged on, I still killed frogs, I still got kersplatted.

As December came around this year I decide to move on. Nothing wrong with TEMPLIS, simply it is not as busy enough in my TZ as I expected. Good bunch of guys, just tend to be active when I'm in bed or when I'm just getting up for work. 7am fleet? Yeah not going to work for me as I'm in the office for that time. So the morale of the story is don't trust graphs.

This time, no research, no graphs, no messing. I've moved over to that bunch of bloody pirates Stay Frosty. Obviously I joined at a weekend close to Christmas so waiting to see, but so far things look good. The market is surprisingly good for a low-sec system and high-sec is next-door with Jita 8 jumps away. Alt runs for missing items are now a lot easier. Plenty of alliance and corpies on in my TZ (something I have been missing) and most importantly it appears there is plenty of PvP action in the area. What is more there are more people flying T1 frigates and destroyers looking for good fights. Around Black Rise I was finding that the new Navy EAF and Command Destroyers were VERY popular. The EAF are really hard to counter and Command Destroyers are just as bad. You need to scram them to hold them down but they are fast. So you need a fast ship with a scram. Oh and they have decent DPS so you need a fast ship with a scram and a good tank. So basically you need a Command Destroyer really. Or you can always use a Navy EAF. Serve them up death by slow agonising kite or by jam.

I've jumped in a couple of carrier loads of ships and things are looking good. Providing people don't start turning up en-mass in Command Destroyers and EAF looks like I could have some fun here.

Oh wait. I appear to have saved a few billion ISK after a few good years in the Pod and Planet contest. You know what they say....

Friday, December 18, 2015

Fiction Friday! Escape pod here. Also Pod and Planet results are out. I got second place in the comedy category and an honourable mention for my entry in the lore category. Happy bunny this morning give the stiff competition entered! Congratulations to all the winners!

I went for a roam in the week and had a fight. This story is loosely based on that.

Sacrificial

Katusen entered the bar. On the 14th deck it was one of the more higher class ones on the station, and in the Caldari State the money always flowed upwards. It was early and the bar was quiet. 17:00 New Eden Standard Time meant that most of the workers would be doing just that, working. He'd left early after a pretty lousy day. He spied her immediately. She was sat at the bar with an empty glass. Attractive, around late 20's the same as him, wearing some sort of uniform he didn't recognise. An empty glass in front of her. An opportunity!

As he started to walk over he saw the barman approach her with a bottle. Caldari Prime Rice Spirit. A potent drink. The barman poured a good measure into her glass and left. Damn it! So much for the good old "Can I buy you a drink?" line. He then watched as she lifted the glass and downed the drink in one. He reached the bar a couple of stools down, a respectable distance, and waved the barman over.

"Hard day?" he asked her casually.

She twisted in her seat and blatantly looked him up and down which made him feel somewhat uneasy.

"You could say that." she replied cautiously.

"Yeah me too. Markets have been in turmoil with this ORE-Serpentis thing. We lost several million by mid-morning in trades. Pulled it back to even by late afternoon. That's when I came down here after saving so many of my coworkers." Katusen boasted.

The woman looked at him. A strange expression on her face.

"Sounds terrible. My day was nothing like that. I escaped an exploding ship by a couple of seconds but my crewmates weren't so lucky. Killed in the resulting decompression and explosions. Leaving me the sole survivor."

Katusen looked at her in shock.

"Oh...." is all he could murmur staring at his drink. They sat in silence for a few minutes after that.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked finally.

"Might as well." she replies. "We were in Ishomilken defending a State complex from the Frogs....."

-o0o-

"XO, we've got a ping. That Daredevil is back. Within 1 AU so will be outside on the acceleration gate." Sawara stated from the scanning console on the bridge.

"Roger. It appears our Captain is well aware." Satoras replied nodding to the front view screen. Satoras was the XO on the ship. As a capsuleer ship he sat in the Captain's chair whilst the egger was encased in his hydrostatic capsule.

The starfield moved as the Kestrel class frigate aligned towards a distant destination. It was aligning to a gravity well that the warp drive could lock onto.

The XO pressed a few buttons on his console and the external view on the large screen was replaced by a CONCORD ship destruction site.

"Our Capt been reading up on him. He's normally kite fit and with those boosted webifier systems on that ship we'd stand no chance. Its the right call to avoid that guy whilst we're flying this. Besides it appears our egger is too busy being social."

Satoras pressed a few more buttons and the local channel logs appeared.

"Who the hell is Joffy Aulx-Gao and what is Stay Frosty?" Sawara asked.

"Pirate and pirate corp. Our Captain knows their CEO apparently. Met him at the Yulai Convention on Emerging Threats this year."

The Kestrel class frigate continued to bounce between Caldari State plex however the Daredevil continued to pursue them. Finally they warped back to the State Protectorate Station followed by the other ship.

"Our Captain's requested docking permission. Think he's giving up? Aibi asked. He was the navigation officer although mostly he was back-up as the Capsuleer did most of that.

The bridge went silent as there was a flash of light and the Daredevil dropped out of warp firing its weapons almost immediately.

"Shields at 20%. That thing hits hard!"

"Relax. We're armour tanked and we're docking!"

The Kestrel was towed into the massive station by the powerful tractor beams.

"What now?" Sawara asked.

"Undocking permission has already been requested. I have no idea what our Capsuleer is planning. He's stopped talking in the local channel though."

The Kestrel undocked and immediately entered warp. The Daredevil positioned outside the undock didn't have time to scramble the warp drive. After dropping out of warp near a stargate the Kestrel returned to one of the Caldari State complexes. Within seconds the capsuleer had used the acceleration gate to enter the deadspace pocket.

"He's setting up in a defensive position from the warp-in." Aibi exclaimed as they watched their ship start a tight orbit around the beacon that indicated the warp-in position. "Surely he's not going to fight that Daredevil?"

"I wouldn't have thought so." replied the XO "This ship and its loadout are no match for that thing. It would take two of us to....." His voice trailed off.

"What?" asked Sawara .

"Riteima. Whats the status of the thermal cut-offs on the weapons?" the XO asked quickly.

There was a moment's pause. "They are all off! The capsuleer has set them all to overheat!"

The XO twisted in his seat. The other three all saw him look to the hatch behind them. The escape pod door had a red light above it meaning it was sealed. The Capsuleers always ensured the escape pods only opened when all was lost. They didn't want critical crew abandoning the ship too early.

"Sawara. What's in 1AU?"

Another pause. "That Daredevil has just popped up."

"And in 5AU?"

"New contact sir. A Tristan class frigate."

"Shit! That's their plan. We're going to double-team this Daredevil and we're the sacrificial bait!" the XO cursed. The other crew members looked at him in horror.

"What? You mean he's going to destroy the ship?" Riteima gasped?

"Effectively. That Daredevil will rip us apart but I'm guessing that Tristan pilot is probably that Joffy guy and he will be on hand to finish the Daredevil off after we've softened him up. Frack! Damn these fracking eggers!"

There was a flash of light as the Daredevil dropped out of warp. Alarms sounded as a tactical lock was detected and their own targeting subsystems locked the opposing frigate. Nobody wsa sure who fired first. The hybrid rounds from the railguns of the Daredevil and the rockets fired from the Kestrel passed each other in the void of space slamming into their respective targets. The two ships circled each other slowly. The Kestrel slowed by the enhanced webifier of the Daredevil and the Daredevil itself slowed by the dual webs of the Kestrel.

"Armour at 35%" Aibi called. Everyone glanced at the escape pod hatch. It was still red.

"Frack me he's leaving this late. Aibi see if you can squeeze more from the engines. His guns will have a harder time tracking us. Sawara any sign of our back-up?" the XO called.

"Tristan is on 500k scan. He's either at the acceleration gate or already in wrap."

The structural damage alarm sounded as consoles and lights started to blow out. Smoke billowed through the air vents and conduits came crashing down.

There was a distinct 'bing' sound and the escape pod door hissed open. All four crew were instantly on their feet running. A pair of Hybrid rounds slammed into the Kestrel knocking them off their feet. Suddenly there was a massive roar of rushing air. Sawara jumped for the hatch and caught on with her fingers as the atmosphere started to vent. She was pulled almost vertically in the wind. Looking back she saw Satoras and Aibi holding onto consoles for dear life. Aibi looked directly into her eyes, she was terrified. She lost his grip and was sucked screaming down the corridor leading out of the bridge. Sawara pulled herself into the escape pod as the doors started to close automatically detecting the pressure drop. She looked back. The XO was too far. She could see the resigned look on his face. Just before the hatch closed he willingly let go. Sawara screamed as she watched him tumble away into the blackness. The hatch sealed and she felt the pod launch. She stayed at the door window watching the Kestrel explode in a massive fireball.

-o0o-

"Frack me!" Katusen muttered.

"Yeah, pretty shitty day!" Sawara replied downing another drink.

"So did the plan work or was it all for nothing?" he asked guardedly.

"Yeah." she sighed. "The Daredevil was destroyed by the Tristan. It was exactly how Satoras said. We were the bait sacrificing our lives so the capsuleer could have a 85 mil' kill against an 8 mil' loss. Our lives exchanged for points on a leadership board. If defies belief the little these capsuleers give regard to human life."

Katusen was working on an exit strategy. He'd come out looking for a good time, thought he'd got lucky finding an attractive woman alone at the bar and then this. The only survivor of a disaster. He needed a good way to escape.

"Well are you ready?" she asked sliding off her bar stool and standing.

"Ready for what?" he asked confused standing too.

"To frack me. That's why you approached me right. You didn't just see me at the bar and think 'She looks and interesting person to have a conversation with' did you? You came over hoping to score."

"Well..... I....." Katusen didn't know how to respond. She smiled and her right hand grabbed his crotch. His eyes went wide in shock.

"Yeah, that'll do. Look let's cut the bullshit. We've both had bad days and I need something to take my mind of things and relax. We both want the same thing so lets go." she said throwing a 20 cred-note on the bar and walking to the exit.

Katusen quickly fumbled with his wallet and threw some money on the bar and chased after her still a little shell-shocked.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Welcome to the continuing monthly EVE Blog Banters and our 70th edition! For more details about what the blog banters are please visit the Blog Banter page.

Dear CCP, I want a Space-Pony and a Space-Puppy and a....If CCP was Santa and you could ask for anything (in-game obviously) what would it be? A new type of ship that is tailored to your game-play? A change to mechanics? A battleship mini-doomsday weapon? Proper hats for your avatar? Opening of that bloody door? There are so many different options depending on what you do and what you want to get out of Eve Online. What would you like to see in your virtual Christmas stocking from CCP?

-o0o-

Dear CCP Santa Claus

Eve is in a good place currently. I think there needs to be some work on solo and small gang PvP as many of the new ships being introduced are causing problems in that area. Svipul and Navy Maalus/Griffin examples of "Nope" ships unless you have the exact right counter for them. Death by extended range Scram Kite or Perma Jammed does not make for a fun fight and neither does insta-death even with a good sized buffer.

Heading out last night for a roam in my Kestrel I encountered. Navy Comet, two Navy Maulus, Dramiel, Navy Griffin and a whole host of other 'Nope!' ships. Finally I found some T1 action in Ishomilken but the Dramiel in system was making a GF impossible. In the end I paired up with a Stay Frosty pilot to double-team that Dramiel who clearly thought a Dram vs a Kestrel would be a good fight!

Low Sec is embracing faction frigates more and more which I suppose is good in some respects. The problem is those of us who like a nice T1 roam. Finding a good fight is getting more and more difficult... unless you like dying horribly to a much more powerful ship then you are in luck. They are every-bloody-where!

However, we are talking Christmas wishes here so not the place for rub-of-the-mill balancing that Foz-ise or is it Ris-zie can do, and will have to do if T1 frigates are going remain relevant in low-sec. Lets talk about that bloody door.

I admit its a niche area. Its not an area the majority of Eve players want to see. However I'd like to see more Avatar led game-play. This is simply for the sci-fi immersion. Any readers of this blog will know I like to have a bit of a play with Photoshop in my fiction on a Friday. I'd prefer to do more of this with less implanting things from other places and only use in-game assets more.

I know it'll take a Christmas miracle for CCP to devote resources to this for the small proportion of the playerbase that will use it. Therefore that's my wish to CCP Santa given its unlikely to ever happen. Open the door, open the station and expand the range of options in the NEX store to help the 'creatives' create more.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Welcome to the continuing monthly EVE Blog Banters and our 70th edition! For more details about what the blog banters are please visit the Blog Banter page.

Dear CCP, I want a Space-Pony and a Space-Puppy and a....
If CCP was Santa and you could ask for anything (in-game obviously) what would it be? A new type of ship that is tailored to your game-play? A change to mechanics? A battleship mini-doomsday weapon? Proper hats for your avatar? Opening of that bloody door? There are so many different options depending on what you do and what you want to get out of Eve Online. What would you like to see in your virtual Christmas stocking from CCP?

Friday, December 11, 2015

"Professor!" one of the students exclaimed bursting into the tent. The professor looked up from his desk. Two more students followed the first. They were clearly excited. The lead student placed a metal shard on his desk and stepped back. The professor placed his glasses on and picked it up. Of course Amarrian technology was sufficiently advanced to fix his eyes and give him perfect 20/20 vision. He just liked the look the glasses. The metal shard was clearly man-made and about 12cm long. It was incredibly lightweight. It glinted in the illumination of the large tent's portable lighting system.

"So what to you think?" one of the students asked excitedly.

"I'll turn that question around. What do you think?" he said with a wily smile.

"Well professor. We recovered this from underneath the meteor fragments meaning it was there at the same time as the meteor struck making it almost eight millennia old!"

The professor smiled. Ah the enthusiasm of youth he thought.

"Well, this is clearly man made. However it is an advanced alloy that is very light. It is unlikely to be that old. The inhabitants of this planet were still working with coppers and tins at that time. I think you'll find if you run a scan on it that someone is playing a trick on you. One of the other dig teams probably slipped it in there when you weren't looking to prank you."

"That's unlikely sir for two reasons."

"Oh how so?" smiled the professor.

"Firstly it took all three of us to remove the large meteor fragment as we dug it out. It had clearly not been moved since it hit and nobody was around."

The professor nodded and gestured for him to continue although he was far from convinced that another group of students were playing a joke on this team.

"We have already run a mass-spec analysis on the alloy and we got a hit in the materials database."

"I told you it would be a recent alloy that....."

"It matches the material used to build the stargate."

"See I said that....."

"No professor, you don't understand. Not our stargates. The ancient one we discovered hundreds of years ago. The first gate built by the 'others'."

The professor dropped the fragment with a clunk.

-o0o-

Approximately eight thousand years ago.....

Hiroko looked out the forward window at the comet. It was beautiful. A massive chunk of blue ice that had been travelling the cosmos for millennia. It was her job to end that journey. She looked one last time and pressed a series of buttons next to the large window. Noisy motors started up and the thick armour plates slowly closed over the viewport. She held another button down and leaned into the control panel.

"Tail-shields in place. Ship secure."

Hiroko was crew on the Yoshino, a comet catcher. Terraforming barren worlds was a massive task. Atmosphere processors, heat generators, ozone producing stations. It took centuries. One of the biggest problems was the lack of oxygen and water. The easiest way to get them was to crash comets into planet. This was their job. Their ship would anchor onto the comet and then use its engines to slowly align it on a collision course with the planet. They would be told what trajectory was needed. It might be a "rain maker" or a "sea maker". The rain maker would be given a shallow entry into the atmosphere allowing it to burn up slowly. The ice would not just be converted to water, the heat of the entry would actually break the molecular bonds and convert the comet to hydrogen and oxygen atoms. That was the most tricky as too shallow the comet would bounce off the weak atmosphere and back into space. Too steep and it would become a 'sea maker'. Sea makers were the easiest. Simply slam the comet into the surface adding billions of litres of water to the environment and as an added bonus place millions of tons of dust into the air helping the terraforming.

She heard the low shield alarm and then the first 'tinks' of ice hitting the thick armour plates she had just positioned in front of the delicate areas of the ship. She left the observation room and headed to the bridge.

The ship was old. It had been catching comets for decades but they could not afford the new tech used by the Mega Corporations of Sol. High-tech tractor beams that gently nudged the comet in the way they wanted. No, they still relied on the 'grab it and point it' method which had been used for a hundred years or more. They worked for a corporation that had its roots in what was central Asia on earth and that one day would be the distant relatives of the Caldari State. Now into the 8th millena in Earth years their HQ was based on one of the outlying colonies in the sol system.

Sol, her home and now an unknown distance away. Nobody really knew where New Eden was. The wormhole that led them there could have taken them to a distant part of their own galaxy although it was more likely another galaxy or even a parallel universe. Their corporation had bought the small rocky planet in this system still referred to by a series of letters and numbers. It needed terraforming and seeding the planet with ice was the first step.

"Fifty 'k' to the tailcone" Sumiko stated as Hiroko entered the bridge.

"Steady as she goes." Captain Daichi replied.

Hiroko took her seat and looked at the monitor. They were close now. When they entered the comet's tail things would get dicey. The small tremors in the ship she had been feeling started to grow.

Once inside the cone of the comet navigation was almost impossible. The ship used the old tried and tested method of firing four harpoons into it. They could then steer the comet as if it was part of the ship. It usually took a few days to get the trajectory correct. Then they simply unclamped and drifted off the comet. The tremors in the ship grew steadily. Chunks of ice were bouncing off the hull making a lot of noise.

"OK we are in the tail!" Sumiko stated.

"Roger. Open the tubes and fire harpoons!"

There was a whooshing sound as the four harpoons fired followed by a tense moment.

"Helm reduce the engines ten percent."

They felt the ship slow and then jolt. The Captain looked over at Takara. He was intently looking at his screen. He looked over at the Captain and gave a thumbs up.

"Helm start the steering routine. Lets give this big boy a nudge in the right direction. Let's move to skeleton shifts for the next 48 hours. Get some rest people!"

A small cheer went up from the crew.

-o0o-

"Helm confirm trajectory." the Captain ordered. It had been a restful two days as the ship slowly altered the comet's trajectory. Now was the moment of truth.

"Confirmed Captain. Entry to the atmosphere in 12 hours. Shallow angle and computer says 2% chance of a skip, 4% of a sea maker and 94% chance of rain maker."

The Captain nodded. Good odds. Crashing comets into the atmosphere was a tricky business unless the Client wanted a sea maker. They were easy and usually 100% chance of success. Hence the pay for those was crap. It took skill, judgement and more than a bit of luck to angle the comet for an entry where it would do several orbits breaking up as it did and seeding the atmosphere with water, hydrogen and oxygen.

"Science. Disengage the harpoons."

Sumiko went to work. Announcing as each of the first two harpoons retracted their claws and were pulled back into the tubes. There was a long pause after the second was retrieved.

"Problem Sumiko?" the Captain asked.

"Sir. Harpoons 3 and 4 appear to have hit something strange in the comet and are jammed. Probably a metal deposit."

The Captain did not look pleased. The harpoons were expensive and cutting them loose would eat a lot into their profits. This was a regular occurrence unfortunately. The comets tail always made good sensor readings impossible.

"Helm. If we tried to pull them free what's the danger to the course?"

The helm went quiet for a few seconds as he tapped away at the console.

"Unlikely to be a problem Cap. A gentle tug won't make a difference to the course at this point, we're already in the gravity well of the planet."

"Good. Forward thrusters ten percent for 2 seconds and then reverse thrusters five percent for three seconds."

The bridge fell quiet. They felt the ship accelerate and then reversed. The inertial dampeners on the aging ship unable to cope fully with the change in direction. Then the entire ship bucked. Alarms started sounding.

"CUT ENGINES!" the Captains shouted.

"One Harpoon has broke free the other...." Sumiko was cut off by a huge crash. The sound of grinding metal and multiple alarms sounded. Then it went black.

-o0o-

"So we're fracked?" the Captain asked.

Eiji nodded in the cold, dim glow of the emergency lighting.

"Captain, we're still inside the comets cone with one of the harpoons still anchored. We cannot suit up and go for a look. I've looked at the shielded cameras and replayed the footage from the ones destroyed in the accident. As far as I can tell when we pulled one of the harpoons free a chunk of the comet broke off with it. The other harpoon is still stuck so held us nicely in position for that chunk of rock to hit us. We've lost most of the starboard side. The big issue now is that the harpoon that is holding us there has had most of its mechanics mangled. We cannot cut the remaining one loose without someone going outside with a cutting torch and physically snipping the cable. That's not an option within the cone as they would be shredded before they even fully left the 'lock. Engines are down, main power is down and the computers are down. I say down, I mean wrecked. The holes the rock chunk made in us have let in he fragments from the comet's tail. Engineering hasn't just been depressurised, it's been iced."

"Escape pods?" Hiroko suggested.

"No point." Eiji replied "They are more sturdy than a suit but not by much. Those ice chunks out there are flying at such speed you might as well eject in a can of cola. You'll have a thousand breaches before you are fifty meters from the ship, and we have 20km to clear the tail debris."

The room went silent.

"I don't supposed we will be released during re-entry and can make an escape bouncing off the upper atmosphere."

Eiji gave a weak smile.

"Two problems. One, we have no engines or power so even if we the cable gave way we'd just follow the comet. The second one is more important. The chunk breaking away and the ship hanging on with one 'poon means we'll have changed its course. Without the navi-com I cannot say for sure, but looking at the external cameras I don't think this bad boy is going to be a rainmaker. Its now a sea maker, and that means we're the fish!"

-o0o-

Hiroko lay in her bunk staring at the ceiling. Discussions were still going on about how they could save themselves but they were just going round and round. She'd come back here to escape the depressing conversation. She was not ready to die. Then again may be some of her biological mass would survive in the thin atmosphere on the planet. Frozen and preserved. One day when life started to sprout part of it would be because of her.

"Hey!"

She looked over and found Sumiko almost floating in the doorway. The artificial gravity generators were fading and she could feel the low gravity getting even more shallow. Sumiko pulled herself down so she was almost standing.

"You had enough of the talk too?" Hiroko asked.

"Yeah. We've worked out 50 different ways that we're fracked and they are just starting back on option one for the fifth time. We've got four hours before we become terraforming material. Wondered if you fancied some company. I don't know about you, but I know I'd prefer to go out relaxed." Sumiko said.

Hiroko smiled and nodded. Sumiko entered her quarters and closed the door pushing herself off the bulkhead. She pulled her top off as she floated gently towards Hiroko. Hiroko herself pushed off and met Sumiko in mid-air.

-o0o-

The Captain looked at the bottle angrily. The almost zero gravity meant that it was almost impossible to get the rum out easy. He tried sucking and shaking the bottle but in the weightless environment it was no use.

"CAPTAIN!" a voice cried out. He looked to the far end of the galley and saw Hiroko floating in at speed closely followed by Sumiko. Both were partially dressed.

"Thanks girls but I think I'd prefer to spend my last minutes too drunk to perform!" he sighed looking intently at the bottle.

The two girls looked at him confused and then realised what they must look like.

"No Captain. We've got it! We have a way that might save us!" Hiroko spoke quick.

The Captain looked at her in surprise.

"The main cargo bay. Its exterior doors have emergency explosive ejection systems. If we blow them it'll depressurise the main bay. That should be enough?"

Daichi shook his head trying to clear it.

"So?" he mumbled.

"That should have us a boost in one direction which might be enough to start us spinning. If its strong enough the Yoshino should start to orbit the comet tethered by the harpoon. When we get close to the atmosphere we'd not be shielded by the comet. There is a chance the tether will snap and we'd be free.

The Captain started to sober up. "If it snaps as we're swinging towards the planet we'd be fracked as we have no engines."

"How the hell did you come up with this zero-G physics solution?" said the Captain pushing off the floor and drifting through the air.

The two women looked sheepish. "We were just floating around and....." Hiroko's voice trailed off.

The Captain looked puzzled and then put two and two together. He suddenly looked embarrassed. As a frequent patron to the zero-G rooms in certain African Union stations he guessed what they were up to.

"Oh right. Eiji!" he yelled.

Eiji appeared from around the corner.

"Can we blow the main bay doors remotely from here?"

Eiji frowned. "Probably. It's a hardwire and the junction box runs down the corridor. It should still be OK. However if we do that there is the danger of a cascade. The explosive decompression could rip open the internal doors one by one."

The Captain nodded.

"Certain death by re-entry or 50-50 chance of survival minus chance of the doors giving way?" he asked.

Eiji paused. "I'll make sure the doors are sealed!" he said.

-o0o-

An hour later the crew stared at the two bare wires. Stripped and bare the coppery cable glinted in the dim lighting. The Captain held them apart.

"Well. Here goes everything!" he stated casually as he touched them together. There was a crackle and a spark followed by a huge distant bang. The ship shook and suddenly some gravity returned. There was another band followed by another. They looked at Eiji nervously. Three more bangs and then a pause. The pitter patter of the comet's tail fragments against the hull was the only sound now as they all held their breath.

"We depressurised about 75% of the ship at a guess." he said finally.

"Did it work?" Hiroko asked.

The Captain stood up and took a few uneasy steps.

"We have gravity. Therefore either the decompression fixed the grav-genny or we're spinning."

The noise of the tail fragments impacts that had been continuous for a day started to fade. A moment later they were in total silence. Nobody spoke. They just stood there. 30 seconds later they obviously re-entered the tail when the noise started. After a few more seconds it stopped again. They were indeed spinning.

"It did work. We got the comet spinning!" Eiji stated.

Nobody cheered. They knew that it still might not work. However now they had a chance. All they could do is wait and hope they were the right side of the comet when the tether broke.

-o0o-

"Its one of ours sir. A contractor, looks like a comet catcher. Looks pretty banged up." the Science Officer on the huge command ship stated. "I have some life signs but they are pretty faint."

"Understood. Launch a S&R shuttle and lets bring them home. I think the mystery of that comet that slammed into the planet yesterday has been answered. Med-Bay stand by for potential casualties."

Monday, December 7, 2015

As I said in an earlier post I am back in the UK for a week. My plan was normal blogging service. Then I got to my brothers new house and found that the internet hadn't been installed. Worse still, the mobile signal and the internet it provided was on a par with the late 1990's.

Finally there is no pub in his village or anywhere providing WiFi. Therefore I have hardly been able to use Twitter and email never-mind and sort of browsing that needed more than an 'E' signal on the mobile phone.

I'm back to civilisation now (London) returning to the real sandbox, where they have mobile internet, so normal service will resume later this week!

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

I'm back in the UK for a few days for my father's 70th. He has no idea the wife and I have flown back and we're currently hiding out in the south-west with wifey's parents before the surprise party. Bit of a struggle to blog about Eve for the next few days but I can manage a few screenshots of the new logistics frigates for your viewing pleasure if you've not been on Sisi!

Yes FRAPS has left the frame-rate counter on there. No I cannot be bothered to do them again. I'm jet-lagged!

About Me

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